2.4 Feminist and queer theories in performance

Feminist and queer theories in performance examine gender inequality and challenge fixed identities. They analyze how performances construct or subvert gender norms and sexual ideologies, emphasizing intersectionality and the potential for resistance.

These theories are applied to critique representations in casting, costuming, and characterization. They guide the creation of performances that challenge oppressive norms, exploring cross-gender casting and celebrating diverse sexualities and non-normative desires.

Feminist and Queer Theories in Performance

Key Principles and Their Relevance to Performance Studies

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• Feminist theory examines gender inequality focusing on the social, political, and economic disparities between men and women
  • Seeks to understand how gender roles and expectations are socially constructed and perpetuated through various institutions (the arts and performance)
• Queer theory challenges the notion of fixed and stable identities, particularly in relation to gender and sexuality
  • Interrogates the binary categories of male/female and heterosexual/homosexual arguing that these are socially constructed rather than natural or essential
• Both feminist and queer theories emphasize the importance of intersectionality recognizing that gender and sexuality intersect with other identity categories (race, class, and ability) shaping individuals' experiences and opportunities
• In the context of performance studies, feminist and queer theories provide critical lenses for analyzing how performances construct, reinforce, or subvert dominant gender norms and sexual ideologies
• Feminist and queer theories also highlight the potential of performance as a site of resistance where marginalized identities can be affirmed and alternative ways of being can be imagined and enacted

Application of Feminist and Queer Theories in Performance Analysis

• Feminist and queer theories are applied to analyze the representation and construction of gender and sexuality in various aspects of performance (casting, costuming, staging, and characterization)
  • For example, examining how traditional theatrical forms have perpetuated gender stereotypes by casting men and women in narrowly defined roles that reinforce dominant gender norms (women as passive love interests, men as active heroes)
• These theories are used to critique how performances can reinforce heteronormative ideologies and marginalize or erase queer identities and desires
  • For instance, analyzing how the representation of sexuality in performance has historically been shaped by censorship and moral codes leading to the exclusion or stereotyping of LGBTQ+ characters and experiences
• Feminist and queer theories also guide the creation and interpretation of performances that challenge oppressive gender and sexual norms
  • Such as exploring how cross-gender casting, where actors perform roles typically associated with a different gender, can expose the performative nature of gender and destabilize binary categories
  • Or examining how contemporary feminist and queer performances foreground sexual diversity and non-normative desires celebrating queer sexualities and challenging the heterosexual imperative

Gender and Sexuality in Performance

Representation and Construction through Performance Elements

• Gender and sexuality are performed and constructed through various elements of performance including casting, costuming, staging, and characterization
  • For example, costume choices (dresses for women, suits for men) can reinforce traditional gender roles and expectations
  • Staging and blocking can also construct gendered power dynamics (men occupying more space, women confined or objectified)
• Traditional theatrical forms have often perpetuated gender stereotypes and heteronormative ideologies with men and women being cast in narrowly defined roles that reinforce dominant gender norms
  • Such as women portrayed as passive, emotional, and dependent on men (ingenues, love interests) while men are shown as active, rational, and dominant (heroes, leaders)
  • Heterosexual love stories are often central to the plot, marginalizing or erasing queer identities and desires
• Contemporary feminist and queer performances challenge these conventions by presenting non-traditional gender roles, exploring female and LGBTQ+ experiences, and subverting audience expectations
  • For instance, casting women in traditionally male roles (King Lear) or exploring queer relationships and desires center stage (Angels in America)

Historical and Contemporary Representation of Sexuality

• The representation of sexuality in performance has historically been shaped by censorship and moral codes leading to the marginalization or erasure of queer identities and desires
  • For example, the Hays Code in Hollywood banned the explicit representation of "sexual perversion" (homosexuality) leading to coded or subtextual queer characters and storylines
  • Similarly, the Lord Chamberlain's Office in England censored any explicit references to homosexuality in theater until 1968 forcing queer themes to be veiled or implied
• Contemporary feminist and queer performances often foreground sexual diversity and non-normative desires challenging the heterosexual imperative and celebrating queer sexualities
  • Such as explicitly depicting queer sexual acts and desires on stage (Cleansed by Sarah Kane) or exploring the diversity of LGBTQ+ identities and experiences (The Laramie Project)
• Cross-gender casting, where actors perform roles typically associated with a different gender, can expose the performative nature of gender and destabilize binary gender categories
  • For instance, casting men in female roles (Divine in Female Trouble) or women in male roles (Fiona Shaw as Richard II) highlights the artificiality and fluidity of gender

Subversive Potential of Feminist and Queer Performance

Strategies for Subversion and Critique

• Feminist and queer performances can subvert dominant power structures and challenge oppressive gender and sexual norms through various strategies
• Parody and irony are often employed to critique and destabilize gender stereotypes and heteronormative ideologies exposing their absurdity and artificiality
  • For example, Charles Ludlam's The Mystery of Irma Vep parodies Victorian melodrama and Gothic horror to reveal the instability of gender and sexual categories
• Drag performances, where performers adopt exaggerated gender roles and characteristics, can denaturalize gender categories and highlight their performative nature
  • Such as RuPaul's Drag Race which showcases the artistry and subversive potential of drag while also exposing the constructed nature of gender
• Feminist and queer performances often blur the boundaries between the personal and the political using autobiographical material to connect individual experiences to broader social and political struggles
  • For instance, Holly Hughes' World Without End explores the intersection of her personal identity as a lesbian with the political struggles of the LGBTQ+ community

Creating Space for Marginalized Voices and Activism

• By creating spaces for marginalized voices and experiences, feminist and queer performances can foster a sense of community and solidarity among performers and audiences
  • Such as the WOW Café Theatre in New York which provides a platform for women and LGBTQ+ artists to create and showcase their work
  • Or the "It Gets Better" project which features performances by LGBTQ+ individuals sharing their stories of resilience and hope to support queer youth
• Feminist and queer performances can also engage in activist and interventionist strategies using the stage as a platform for social and political critique and mobilization
  • For example, the Guerrilla Girls use performance art and political activism to challenge sexism and racism in the art world wearing gorilla masks to maintain their anonymity
  • ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) used theatrical protests and die-ins to raise awareness about the AIDS crisis and demand government action in the 1980s and 1990s

Intersections of Identity in Performance

Intersectionality and Multiple Marginalization

• Feminist and queer theories recognize that gender and sexuality do not operate in isolation but intersect with other identity categories such as race, class, and ability
• Intersectionality highlights how individuals' experiences and opportunities are shaped by the complex interplay of multiple, overlapping systems of oppression and privilege
  • For example, a black lesbian may face discrimination and marginalization based on her race, gender, and sexuality simultaneously
• Performances that engage with intersectionality often foreground the experiences of individuals who are marginalized along multiple axes of identity such as queer people of color or working-class women
  • Such as Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf which explores the experiences of black women through poetry, music, and dance
  • Or Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's Bodymap which examines the intersection of disability, sexuality, and race in the lives of queer and trans people of color

Exposing Interconnected Oppressions and Challenging Single-Issue Politics

• Intersectional performances can expose the ways in which different forms of oppression are interconnected and mutually reinforcing challenging simplistic or single-issue approaches to social justice
  • For instance, examining how racism and sexism intersect in the experiences of women of color (misogynoir) or how classism and homophobia shape the lives of working-class queer people
• By attending to the diversity within feminist and queer communities, intersectional performances can resist the homogenization or erasure of marginalized voices and experiences
  • Such as centering the experiences of trans women of color who have been historically marginalized within feminist and LGBTQ+ movements (Reina Gossett's Happy Birthday, Marsha!)
• Intersectional performances can also highlight the specific challenges and forms of resistance that emerge at the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, class, and other identity categories
  • For example, examining how queer people of color navigate the racism of LGBTQ+ communities and the homophobia of communities of color (Cherríe Moraga's Giving Up the Ghost)
  • Or exploring how disabled queer people challenge ableist norms and heteronormative expectations (Robert McRuer's Crip Theory)